In 2017 I came to IHOP to do the one thing internship. I stayed afterwards and joined the staff of the higher grounds coffee shop after my internship. After spending a year doing that I decided to “trust God” and do FPD (the support raising program at IHOP). A friend of mine got me in contact with The head of FPD, and I started my journey. Little did I know that I would come to get physically sick with fear every time I would have my weekly meeting with him. He would belittle all my ideas and when I would be instructed by him to make a FPD letter or post cards he would call them garbage and crap. He would tell me that I look like I am on drugs in all my pictures and that my letter was trash because I don’t have a good enough “calling”. As a very emotionally fragile 19-20 year old this was very tough to hear a “respected leader” in ,the Church movement that I had given my life to, say. Week after week he would give me assignments to come up with a new letter or message everyone on Facebook that I know. If I didn’t do good enough according to him , he would insult me and I began to loath when it would be getting close to [meeting time] every week when I would have my meeting with him. Eventually he was going to send me on my “campaign” for three months. He was sending me back to Texas to beg people I kinda knew for money. and to “make sure it goes through the IHOP website and don’t let them cash app you or send you cash” (maybe because IHOP takes out “processing fees?”). He then got some random person to be my “coach” and call me every week to make sure I was doing what I was supposed to. I was sent to Texas, by the way, with no car and just planning on Ubering around, having these meetings and asking for money. The FPD head gave me these salesman tactics to tell to people. I could go on and on about the scummy things they have you do in FPD but I won’t here. Anyways I didn’t raise enough money. I was ridiculed by family members for asking for money (which looking back on it now, it’s something I regret doing) and came back to KC and got a job with the maintenance department at IHOP. One day I was in the back of the prayer room throwing scrap drywall into the dumpster and the FPD head, came up to me. He said “look at you. You are a failure , you failed because you didn’t listen to me and now you have to work this instead of having support. “ I was in utter shock and said some choice words (won’t write them here) to him and he walked away all pissed off. Afterwards I had to call my boss and tell him I was going home sick because I was literally crying because of the encounter I had with him. He called me a failure for having a job and not doing his multi level marketing scheme for money. I thankfully , left ihop in 2021 and realized the poverty mentality so many people have at ihop because of FPD. Everyone there is basically living on Penny’s. I look back at that “FPD season” and I’m so embarrassed. I see the 200 Facebook messages I sent to random Facebook friends asking to “send them a letter about what God is doing in my life” and I just feel like such a scum bag. This is the system they have at IHOP. Instead for paying their worship leaders, and intercessors and workers a livable wage, they make us sell ourselves to people we are kinda acquainted with. And these are the types of leaders at ihop. People who have got away with saying hurtful things and breaking hearts of people who see them as great examples of what a Christian leader should be because “If they are an ihop leader they have to be good because ihops words are law”. Overall I am very happy I got out when I did and my heart breaks for the people that are still there.
- Intern, living waters staff, maintenance staff2017-2021